Theft Suspects Held After Freeway Chase
Two men who police said had stolen a laptop computer in Irvine were arrested Wednesday after leading officers on a high-speed pursuit that ended on the San Diego Freeway, where the men abandoned their car and ran across the freeway into a residential neighborhood.
A police officer responding to a bank robbery in the 18600 block of MacArthur Boulevard about 11:20 a.m. tried to question two men in the area, Lt. Tom Hume said. The men drove off, leading the officer on a chase that reached speeds of 90 mph on the San Diego Freeway, where they discarded the stolen computer, Hume said.
The men abandoned their car and ran across the freeway toward a residential neighborhood near Daisy Avenue and Pine Circle in Fountain Valley. Irvine and Fountain Valley police searched the area and arrested Marcus Johnson, 22, and Martin Torres, 26, both of Los Angeles, Hume said.
Both men were being held at Orange County Jail on suspicion of grand theft and evading arrest.
Hume said a motorist traveling on the San Diego Freeway saw the men discard the computer, stolen from Prodata Imaging, and retrieved it for police.
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